On October 27 James Hilton, Vice Provost for Digital Education & Innovation and the Dean of Libraries, will receive the 2015 Leadership Award for his visionary leadership in transforming higher education. The Leadership Award is the highest recognition of achievement given at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference and celebrates the exemplary leadership showcased by its recipients through their advocacy of information technology in higher education.

“James brings a deep understanding of the academy and broad and bold thinking to his work on some of the biggest and most difficult challenges and opportunities facing higher education and information technology. His visionary leadership and distinctive personal style serve as an inspiration for those he has worked with in the academic community.” – EDUCAUSE

As the Vice Provost for Digital Education & Innovation, Hilton has helped usher in an age fueled by technology, connection, evidence and analytics at U-M. His leadership has helped centralize technology and digital programs residentially while guiding the department and the university, as a whole, to lead the way in transforming higher education through a diverse array of initiatives including experimentation with programs, technology, learning analytics, digital communities.

Through his work as University Librarian and Dean of Libraries and Vice Provost of Digital Education & Innovation at U-M, James Hilton spearheads the development of campus-wide strategies, policies and programs on educational technology. A nationally recognized leader in technology issues around higher education, he has led, championed and fostered technology initiatives that cross boundaries between institutions, and between academic and information technology units. His impact on higher education has spanned more than three decades, during which he co-founded the Sakai Project, a collaborative effort to create open software, provided early support to Internet2 NET+ and Duraspace, and helped spearhead the development of the Unizin Consortium, a partnership of universities of universities that is empowering participating institutions to exert greater control over the infrastructure, content, and data that both drive and emerge from the expanding digital learning landscape.

Throughout his career, Hilton has led the exploration and use of technology. He began his career at the University of Michigan as a faculty member within the Department of Psychology and held numerous leadership roles including Associate Provost for Academic, Information and Instructional Technology and Affairs and Interim University Librarian. Prior to his current roles at U-M, he was Vice President and Chief Information Officer at the University of Virginia. He serves on many boards, including Internet2, DuraSpace, DPN, and HathiTrust Board of Governors. His extensive published works encompass the topics of person perception, stereotypes, information technology policy and the psychology of suspicion.